Thoughts on Tablet Weaving

Thoughts on Tablet Weaving

Tablet weaving is complicated and hard to understand. There are a plethora of variables that can influence the weaving. There is the S v. Z variable, that if gotten wrong, can make the weaving look a mess and not at all like the pattern.  And oh, does that mean S as to card tilt, or S as to thread direction? 

There is the turning sequence, which must be adhered to like glue. If one has cats, dogs, rabbits, a husband, a telephone, or the slightest interruption in concentration, it is likely that the sequence will come unglued. One may or may not be able to unweave the mistake. 

There is the thread and color selection the requires looking through website after website, comparing prices and yardage and shipping charges. That procedure can consume several days and is actually an ongoing process. 

There is the selecting of the pattern and the threading of the cards and the warping of the loom. There is the making sure that each card is in its proper place and facing the proper direction. Should one have a border? If so, one needs to learn how to weight those threads individually. Some weaves do not work with a continuous warp, and one will find that out too late, find out that the design threads have become hopelessly twisted with no way to release that spiral.

There is the need to remember each step involved in the actual weaving. Turn the cards first, then pass the shuttle. A person will finally get into the rhythm of weaving only to see that the warp needs advancing or one needs to unwind more thread from the shuttle. 

There is the effort of trying to understand a particular weave and failing in every step. One will scour books and YouTube videos searching for enlightenment. One will chalk that up to experience and move on to warp again another day.

There is the dawning realization that each teacher or source will have a slightly different take on every single aspect, and that teacher will say that theirs is the best way and all other ways are incorrect. One needs to choose a path forward. 

I have been tablet weaving for 4 weeks and I have yet to complete more than 10 inches of any weave without one sort of mistake or another. 

All that being said, I have not panicked. I have remained calm and determined and willing to try once more to get every detail and variable correct and weave a perfect band. 

There is the fact that I spent $200 on a ten hour class and another $200 on supplies and goddamnit, I am going to learn how to do this.